Preparing to Write the Draft

Chapter 4the fourth weekGetting to the draftDont wait until the last minutePapers done under pressure often arent successfulProcrastination can be deadly. HOWEVER..Dont rush into the draft if you dont have enough information

Exploration or argument?Working from a question, your draft can head in two directions1) Argument: Your discoveries from your research may lead you to think a certain answer to your question is particularly persuasive. Now you want to prove it. Example: What should be done about the problem of smoking on campus?2) Exploratory Essay: Maybe youre still not ready to make a judgment about the best answer. Focus less on trying to get the reader to believe something and more on helping them to appreciate what you find interesting.Example: How do smoking bans on college campuses influence social relationship between smokers?

Exercise 4.1Think about your potential reader and why they should care about the subject youre writing about. Consider questions the reader might want to know the answer to:Why? Where? Who? When? What?What do you mean by _______?Can you give me an example etc. Now, make two columns; one with the readers possible questions and one with your answers to these questions. Then think of an answer to the readers final question: This is all very interesting but whats your point?

s.o.f.tSay One Fricking ThingEvery piece of writing should say ONE thing but can deal with many different ideasAcademic writing should have:ThesisPointThememain idea

Organizing the draftStructure is very important especially if you have a lot of information.BUT, avoid thinking about the structure of the essay as something set in concrete before you begin your draft. There are two different kinds of structures:1) Delayed Thesis Structure: characteristic of the exploratory essay 2)Question-Claim Structure: characteristic of the argumentative essay

Delayed thesis structureQuestion-claim structureA structure for exploringIntroduce the research problem or question and then your motive for exploring it.Establish the significance of the problem or question and why readers should care about it.Describe and analyze what has already been written or said by others about the problem or question and how this advances your understandings.Explain what you find to be the most persuasive or significant answer to the research question. This is your thesis.Describe what youve come to understand about the topic that you didnt fully appreciate when you began the project. What is left to explore?

A structure for argumentIntroduce the research question or problem that is the focus of the paper.What will be your argument or claim in the paper? This will be your thesisReview the literature. What have others already said about the question or problem?What are your reasons for believing what you believe and for each one, what specific evidence did you find that you thought was convincing?What is the significance of your claim? Whats at stake for your audience? What might be other avenues for research?

Preparing to Write the Draft1st Make sure you have an overload of information on your topicLack of information causes unfocused and uninformative essayWhen you have LITTLE information you try and use ALL of it to write your paperWhen you have A LOT of information you can go through and choose what information conveys the best message Hearty soup vs. Thin soup

11PREPARING TO WRITE THE DRAFT2nd Based on the information you collected, refine your question and make sure it is exactly what you want. Normally questions start broad and become more specific For exampleHelpful hint: Write your question on a sticky note and put it on your computer monitor so you can constantly revisit it while writing your paper. Preparing to Write the Draft 3rd Refine your thesis to develop a secure sense of direction and organizationIt should not be overly broad or obviousHowever, it can still change

4th Decide on what perspective to use for your writingShould you use first person?Everyone is led to believe first person should be avoided but it actually offers advantagesAllows for personal presence in your writing Can create better connection to readerStarting to Write the Draft: Beginning at the Beginning Leads, like titles, are flashlights that shine down into the story.Have an interesting introduction that pulls readers in and points out the direction the paper is heading as well as the tone of the paperDont try to cover the entire subject of the paper in your one paragraph introduction Use flashlights instead of floodlightsAnecdote (short story that frames paper topic)Scene (descriptive look at revealing aspect of paper)Profile (introduces important person from topic)Background (important or surprising information on topic)Quotation (quote that nicely captures your question and the direction it will take)

There are many ways to start off your paperDialogue (people involved with topic)Question (ask readers what you asked yourself before researching)Contrast (highlight problem or dilemma your paper will explore)Announcement (direct lead that tells what paper is about)

Experiment with writing different leads and pick the one that works best. 16Writing for Reader InterestYouve tentatively chosen youre lead based on how well you think it frames your tentative purpose, establishes an appropriate tone or voice, and captures your readers attentionOnce youve gotten your readers attention, you want to keep itBefore you continue writing your draft, take some time to explore these four considerations:

Writing for Reader InterestHow does your topic intersect with your readers experiences?Is there a way to put faces on your topic, to dramatize how it affects or is affected by particular people?Can you find an ending that further clarifies, dramatizes, or emphasizes what youve come to understand about the answers to your research question?Are there opportunities to surprise your readers, with interesting facts or arresting arguments, or highlighting a way of seeing something that is unexpectedAlong with your strong lead, drafting with these considerations in mind will help you craft a lively, interesting paper1. Working the Common GroundA passage from David Quammens The Miracle of Geese (The Flight of the Iguana):Listen: uh-whongk, uh-whongk, uh-whongk, uh-whongk, and then you are wide awake, and you just smile up at the ceiling as the calls fade off to the north and already they are gone. Silence again, 3 A.M., the hiss of March winds. A thought crosses your mind before your roll over and, contentedly, resume sleeping. The thought is: Thank God I live here, right here exactly, in their path. Thank God for those birds. The honk of wild Canada geese passing overhead in the night is a sound to freshen the human soul. The question is whyBal Bal191. Working the Common GroundThe writers question- Why is this a sound to freshen the human soul?- becomes our question too. We want to know what he knows because he starts with what we both know already: the haunting sound of geese in flightQuammen understands the importance of working the common ground his readers have with him on his topic. His lead draws on an experience that many of us know, and once he establishes that common ground, he takes us into less familiar territory he encountered while researching Canada geese1. Working the Common GroundAs you write your draft this week, seize common ground with your readers whenever you can and ask yourself this:What are my readers own experiences with my topic?Is there some way in my paper that I can help them see that its relevant to them?How can I help them see what they may already know1. Working the Common GroundEx: Steve, writing a paper about the town fire department that services the university, began by describing a frequent event in his dorm: a false alarm. He then went on to explore why many alarms are not really false after all. He hooked his readers by drawing on their common experience with the topicSome topics, like geese and alcoholism, may have very real connections to lives of your readersAs your revise your paper, look for opportunities to encourage your readers to take a closer look at something that they may have seen before1. Working the Common GroundTopics for Which Common Ground Is Hard to Find

Some topics dont yield common ground so directly. They may be outside the experiences of your readersEx: Margaret, a history major, is writing a paper on the Bubonic plagueThis is an age and a disaster that is beyond the imagining of modern readersShe could connect the Bubonic Plague to the modern AIDS epidemic in Africa. Margaret might begin her essay with a brief glimpse at the devastation of families in South Africa today as a way of establishing the relevance of her 500-year-old topic.In writing your paper, imagine the ways in which your topic intersects with the life of a typical reader, and then use your insights to bring the information to life

2. Putting People on the PageIdeas come alive when we see how they operate in the world we live inBeware of long paragraphs with sentences that begin with phrases like in todays society, where you wax on with generalization after generalizationUnless your ideas are anchored to specific cases, observations, experience, statistics, and, especially, people, they will be reduced to abstractions and lose their power for your reader2. Putting People on the PageUsing Case StudiesResearch papers are often peopleless landscapes which makes them so lifeless to readUltimately, what makes almost any topic matter to the writer or the reader is what difference it makes to peopleEx: Candys paper on child abuse and its effect on language development opened with the tragic story of Genie, who, for nearly 13 years, was bound in her room by her father and beaten whenever she made a soundSometimes, the best personal experience to share is your own2.Putting People on the PageUsing InterviewsInterviews are another way to bring people on the pageEx: Heidis paper on Sesame Street featured the voice of a school principal, a woman who echoed the point the paper made about the value of the program

3. Writing a Strong EndingEndings to AvoidAvoid conclusions that restate what youve already said. A common error is to repeat your point because you assume that the readers arent smart enough to understand what youre saying or that you havent stated it clearlyAvoid endings that being with in conclusion or thus. These words signal that youre ending and often lead into a very general summary3. Writing a Strong EndingAvoid endings that dont feel like endings- that trail off onto other topics, are abrupt, or dont seem connected to what came before them. Prompting your readers to think is one thing; leaving them hanging is quite anotherThe most important quality of a good ending is that it add something to the paper. If it doesnt, cut it and write a new oneWhat can the ending add?3. Writing a Strong EndingA further elaboration of your thesis that grows from the evidence youve presentedA discussion of solutions to a problem that has arisen from the information youve uncoveredPerhaps a final illustration or piece of evidence that drives home your pointAn ending, in many ways, can be approached similarly to a lead. You can conclude with an anecdote, a quotation, a description, or a profileFind some way in the end of your essay to return to where the piece beganAlthough this approach is formulaic, it often works well because it gives a piece of writing a sense of unity

4. Using SurpriseThe research process- like the writing process - can be filled with discovery for the writer if he/she approaches the topic with curiosity and opennessAs you write your draft, reflect on the surprising things you discovered about your topic during the research and looks for ways to weave that information into the rewriteHowever, dont include information, no matter how surprising or interesting, that doesnt serve your purposeWriting with SourcesResearch papers require documentation Try to not be stuck into the technical demands, once you know the material better it should be easier to handle the sourcesBlending Different SourcesFor a research paper you can draw from four different types of sourcesReading, interviews, observation, and experienceObviously these are all cited separately, but it is possible to blend them all together to keep the paper more interestingHandling QuotationsTry to talk about the quote, dont just leave it as its own part of a paragraph, explain it somewhatLook for a way to incorporate small portions of quotes into your writing to smooth out the flow of the paragraphGood Tips for QuotesThe best way to use quoted material is often grafting a small amount of information into your own style of writingObviously not always true, sometimes a longer quotation helps to emphasize a pointSandwiching quotes make sure to surround the quote with information about it, like who said it and the quote is relevant

More TipsBill boarding italicizing the most important parts of a quote to emphasize their relevancySplicing quotes using in the middle of a quote to make sure to only include the real meat of a quote, removing excess informationEven More TipsHandling interview material you can include yourself in an interview asking the questions or not, if the question is necessary then add it, but if it does not need to be included you might leave it outTrust your memoryTo try to be clean about referencing your work, avoid looking at your sources frequently, because you will remember whats important if youve studied your notes enough

Writing the First DraftIt may be very difficult to stray away from your thesis, but as you write your paper you may find yourself circling back to redo a large amount.This is good, it shows youre really working on itDont worry about the paper being perfect, it is going to have problems you can fix later